PAT CAPUTO: Red Wings will only go as far as Datsyuk and Zetterberg carry them WITH VIDEO

As the Red Wings approach what figures to be a bizarre NHL season, much of the attention has been focused on the players they lost, and those they did not acquire.

Nicklas Lidstrom, arguably the greatest defenseman of all-time, who ranks on the Mount Rushmore of Red Wings' all-time greats with Steve Yzerman and Gordie Howe, has retired. Also, gone to free agency is veteran defenseman Brad Stuart. There was much disappointment this summer when the Red Wings did not land either of the top free agent players on the market, winger Zach Parise and defenseman Ryan Suter. They both signed with the Minnesota Wild.

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What has been forgotten in the equation are the players who remain with the Red Wings, especially at the high end with forwards Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg.

The Red Wings are a genuinely storied franchise. It isn't just Howe, Yzerman and Lidstrom, either. There are many others who rank among hockey's all-time greats. The Red Wings have won four Stanley Cup titles since 1997. They won four in the 1950s. Those are widely regarded as the franchise's salad eras. Those eras were dominated by many great stars. Ted Lindsay, Red Kelly, Alex Delvecchio, Terry Sawchuck and Sid Abel joined Howe in the 1950s; The Russian Five, The Grind Line, Chris Osgood and Brendan Shanahan were with Yzerman and Lidstrom during more recent Stanley Cup runs.

In that frame work, where do Datsyuk and Zetterberg rank?

Certainly, they have been key cogs for the Red Wings for an extended period. Datsyuk has played on two Stanley Cup winners, Zetterberg one.

But it's never really been their team. First it was The Captain's, then it was Nick's. Now is Datsyuk and Zetterberg's time.

To say Datsyuk and Zetterberg aren't respected would be inaccurate. As recently as last season, in a poll of NHL players by The Hockey News, Datsyuk was named as the second-best player in the NHL behind only Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby. Zetterberg was 20th. The results of the poll were released in March. If the poll were taken now, after the Red Wings' ouster in the first-round of the playoffs in five games by Nashville last spring, it's doubtful either player would be ranked nearly as high. Suter was 34th on the list, Parise 29th.

The dynamic we've become accustomed to with the Red Wings has been so different than in other NHL towns. We always thought Sergei Fedorov was just a kid - even when he moved into his 30s - because of Yzerman. Ditto for Datsyuk and Zetterberg because of Lidstrom.

But Datsyuk is 34, and only has one year remaining on his contract beyond this year. Zetterberg is 32, although signed into the 1220s.

Both carry the calling card as great two-way forwards. As such, they have often been hailed for their selflessness, and little fire has been put at their feet to score goals, because lack of offensive production has not been much a problem traditionally for the Red Wings.

It hasn't mattered much Datsyuk has never scored more than 32 goals in a season, and only has only reached the 30-goal mark three times. It did last year in the playoffs when the well went dry against the Predators. There is nothing on a sheet of ice Datsyuk is not capable of performing. He ranks among the most skilled all-around players ever. That includes a dynamite shot. He needs to make more use of it to score goals this season.

Zetterberg does have a 43-goal season under his belt, but he hasn't scored more than 24 in any of the last three seasons.

In 2011-12, when there was a full NHL schedule of games, Datysuk and Zetterberg each scored 22 goals. In the five games vs. Nashville, they combined for three goals.

The Red Wings still ranked sixth in the NHL in goals scored, but when their big guns needed to score in the playoffs, they misfired. The Red Wings can make improvement if that changes this season.

With Lidstrom gone, Zetterberg and Datysuk are playing for their legacies in Detroit.

Oh, they will always be fondly remembered, but whether they will be immortalized like the true greats of Red Wings' hockey depends on what they do now that it is their time.